It's apparently better for state Rep. Robert Martwick (D-Chicago) to stick his foot in his mouth than stick a hand in billionaire J.B. Pritzker's pocket, the lllinois Republican Party suggested recently.
Martwick announced he was killing his own bill, HB 2517, shortly after the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that Pritzker, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, had saved thousands of dollars in a property tax appeal on his empty mansion. The bill was intended to crack down on vacancy fraud, the GOP said in a statement.
Following up on Martwick's announcement, the GOP released a robocall in Martwick's district accusing him of selling out by not standing by his own legislation. HB 2517 was in the House Rules Committee when Martwick announced that he would not call the bill for a vote.
"But the moment billionaire J.B. Pritzker was exposed using this property tax scheme to cut property taxes on Pritzker's mansion by $240,000 while making all of us pay more, Martwick immediately flipped his position out of blind loyalty to (House Speaker Michael )Madigan (D-Chicago) and his new friend Pritzker," the calls say, according to the statement.
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